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Melkhout Patensie PIA May 2013

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1 Palaeontological specialist assessment: combined field-based and desktop study PROPOSED MELKHOUT - PATENSIE 132 kV TRANSMISSION LINE PROJECT, HUMANSDORP & HANKEY MAGISTERIAL DISTRICTS, EASTERN CAPE. John E. Almond PhD (Cantab.) Natura Viva cc, PO Box 12410 Mill Street, Cape Town 8010, RSA [email protected] May 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Eskom are proposing to construct approximately 28 km of overhead 132 kV powerline from the existing Melkhout Substation near Humansdorp to a proposed new substation near Patensie, Eastern Cape. The project also entails decommissioning of redundant infrastructure, the construction of a new substation at Patensie, as well as the construction of new, or maintenance of existing, minor roads and the possible construction of minor bridge/s across a water course. The proposed development footprint between Humansdorp and Patensie is underlain by Palaeozoic bedrocks of the Table Mountain Group and Bokkeveld Group (Cape Supergroup) as well as by Mesozoic continental sediments of the Uitenhage Group. Three of the Palaeozoic successions involved – the Late Ordovician Cederberg Formation as well as the Early Devonian Baviaanskloof Formation and Ceres Subgroup – are known elsewhere within the Cape Fold Belt for their important records of marine and terrestrial fossils. However in the Humansdorp region the Cape Supergroup bedrocks have generally suffered high levels of tectonic deformation and chemical weathering, seriously compromising their fossil heritage. Within the Uitenhage Group the thick alluvial fan to braided fluvial conglomerates of the Enon Formation are at most very sparsely fossilferous. The overlying Early Cretaceous fluvial to estuarine sediments of the Kirkwood Formation contain rare lignite lenses and carbonaceous clays that have yielded important plant fossil and palynomorph assemblages in the south-eastern Gamtoos Basin ( e,g. Loerie area). However, the Kirkwood beds will only be intersected at the northern end of the proposed 132 kV transmission line development, north of the Gamtoos River (e.g. footprint of the proposed new Patensie Substation), where these rocks are on the whole highly weathered. Significant palaeontological impacts here are considered unlikely. No fossil remains were observed during a one-day palaeontological field assessment of the Humansdorp – Patensie study area, neither within the Palaeozoic to Mesozoic bedrocks nor in the overlying Late Caenozoic superficial sediments (colluvium, alluvium, pedocretes, soil etc ). On the basis of the current field assessment as well as the paucity of previous fossil records from the Humansdorp - Patensie region it is concluded that the palaeontological sensitivity of the Palaeozoic and Mesozoic bedrocks here is low due to high levels of tectonic deformation ( e.g. folding, cleavage) John E. Almond (2013) Natura Viva cc 2 and / or chemical weathering. This applies especially to the more mudrock-rich stratigraphic units (e.g. Cederberg Formation, Ceres Subgroup, Kirkwood Formation) that may originally have been highly fossiliferous. The various Late Caenozoic superficial deposits mantling the bedrocks in the study region ( e.g. alluvium, colluvium, soils, pedocretes) are also of low palaeontological sensitivity. Given the resulting low to very low impact significance of the proposed transmission line – including the associated new substation, road and bridge developments - as far as palaeontological heritage is concerned, no further specialist studies or mitigation are considered necessary for this project. It is recommended that: • The Environmental Control Officer (ECO) responsible for the transmission line development should be at least aware of the possibility – albeit low - of important fossils ( e.g. shells, plant remains, trace fossils, mammalian bones and teeth) being present or unearthed on site and should regularly monitor all substantial excavations into superficial sediments as well as fresh (i.e. unweathered) sedimentary bedrock for fossil remains. Particular note should be taken of the possibility of thin, plant-rich horizons (lignites) within the Kirkwood Formation bedrocks beneath the proposed new Patensie Substation; • In the case of any significant fossil finds ( e.g. vertebrate teeth, bones, lignites or plant-rich beds) made during construction, these should be safeguarded - preferably in situ - and reported by the ECO as soon as possible to the relevant heritage management authority (ECPHRA. Contact details: Mr Sello Mokhanya, 74 Alexander Road, King Williams Town 5600; [email protected]) so that appropriate mitigation ( i.e. recording, sampling or collection) by a palaeontological specialist can be considered and implemented, at the developer’s expense; and • These recommendations should be incorporated into the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the 132 kV transmission line project. The palaeontologist concerned with mitigation work will need a valid palaeontological collection permit from SAHRA (Contact details: Mrs Colette Scheermeyer, P.O. Box 4637, Cape Town 8000. Tel: 021 462 4502. Email: [email protected]). All work would have to conform to international best practice for palaeontological fieldwork and the study ( e.g. data recording fossil collection and curation, final report) should adhere to the minimum standards for Phase 2 palaeontological studies developed by SAHRA (2013). 1. INTRODUCTION Eskom are proposing the following infrastructure developments as part (Project 2) of their planned network strengthening and upgrade in the Patensie, Humansdorp and Kareedouw areas, Humansdorp and Hankey Magisterial Districts, Eastern Cape (Arcus GIBB (Pty) Ltd Background Information Document, April 2012): • Construction of approximately 28 km of overhead 132 kV powerline from the Melkhout Substation near Humansdorp through to the Patensie Substation. • Construction of a new 2x20MVA 132/22 kV substation near Patensie. • Decommissioning of redundant infrastructure once new infrastructure has been commissioned. John E. Almond (2013) Natura Viva cc 3 • Construction of new or maintenance of existing minor roads. • Possible construction of minor bridge/s across a water course. Arcus Gibb Engineering and Science have been commissioned to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment of the proposed 132 kV transmission line developments between Kareedouw and Patensie, Eastern Cape. A Phase 1 Heritage Impact Assessment Report for the entire Kareedouw – Patensie 132 kV transmission line study area by eThembeni Cultural Heritage area (Van Schalkwyk & Wahl, May 2012) included the following remarks and recommendations regarding palaeontological heritage resources, largely based on desktop input by present author: The proposed electrical infrastructure between Kareedouw and Patensie is underlain by potentially fossiliferous bedrocks of Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Caenozoic age, while the fossil potential of the Kareedouw – Dieprivier sector is likely low due to tectonism. Geological formations in the Dieprivier – Melkhout sector might contain well-preserved plant material. Early Cretaceous Kirkwood Formation beds near Patensie may contain important fossils of dinosaurs and other terrestrial vertebrates as well as petrified wood, while older alluvial sediments of the Gamtoos drainage system are also potentially fossil-bearing. The potential impact on palaeontological remains is low to medium. A heritage practitioner should complete a ‘walk-through’ of the final selected power line route and all other activity areas (access roads, construction camps, materials’ storage areas, etc.) prior to the start of any construction activities and assess direct impacts on discrete resources such as traditional burial places, and archaeological and palaeontological sites. Since likely impacts on fossil heritage along the proposed new 132 kV transmission line are mainly associated with excavations for the pylon footings, as well as the construction of new substations, it is recommended that a Phase 1 palaeontological field assessment of the final transmission line route be undertaken once the pylon positions have been finalized and before construction commences. The resulting report should make recommendations regarding any necessary mitigation during the construction phase of the transmission line and associated infrastructure ( e.g. recording, sampling of fossil assemblages, field monitoring of selected pylon positions). The present palaeontological heritage assessment report dealing with Project 2 (Melkhout to Patensie) of the 132 kV development has accordingly been commissioned on behalf of Eskom and Arcus GIBB (Pty) Ltd by eThembeni Cultural Heritage (Contact details: Box 20057 Ashburton 3213, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Tel: 033 – 326 1136. Fax: 086 – 672 8557. E-mail: [email protected]). It contributes to the Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed transmission line development and it will also inform the Environmental Management Plan for the project. 1.1. Legislative context for palaeontological assessment studies This report has been commissioned on behalf of Eskom and Arcus GIBB Engineering and Science by eThembeni Cultural Heritage (Contact details: Box 20057 Ashburton 3213, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Tel: 033 – 326 1136. Fax: 086 – 672 8557. E-mail: [email protected]). It contributes to the Environmental Impact Assessment for the proposed transmission line development, governed by the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA, Act 107 of 1998, amended in 2008), and it will also
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